The Independent Reporter Winter 2021

Page 1

the job, but for the funeral home as a whole. Do they need to be able to work alone and unsupervised? Should they be able to work under pressure or tight deadlines that change often? Do you require a warm and friendly tone on the phone? Or attention to detail that necessitates they make no mistakes? List anything you can think of. One side note here — these should be qualities to do the job, nothing more. You can’t list that you want them to be male or female, have a road-worthy car, be married, etc. The final section to work on is called Other. I use this section to add anything else that may help me narrow down my “ideal” candidate. Do you offer ongoing training for employees? “Must be open to training and new ideas.” Do you have non-negotiables, such as consistent work history with a minimum of one year at each previous job? How about, “Someone who wants to move up the ranks.” Because you are an independent funeral home, you can get creative and customize what this ideal candidate might look like.

OK, you included your team in gathering ideas and listing out the items above; you now have an Ideal Candidate Profile! Congratulations! You are ready to write the job posting. Tip: People don’t tend to read long text; keep it concise and straightforward. If you have time to write the ad, excellent; if not, delegate to your office manager or administrative assistant. Start by telling the reader who you are and what you do that is important to them! The goal here is to let applicants know something unique they may experience working with you. Here’s a sample ad opening: Funeral assistant needed to do meaningful work. Warm, friendly, family environment where you will be encouraged to grow professionally and receive continued on-the-job training. We encourage our employees’ feedback and welcome your ideas to serve our families better in these changing times. Tip: Now that you have a meaningful opening, you can list the job requirements you laid out in the Ideal Candidate Profile. This is where the planning pays off, because you now have an ideal candidate-focused advertisement that someone can connect to if it matches their skills and desired work environment. When your ad is complete, test the free sites first, including Indeed.com (non-boosted ad) and, of course, your IFDF job board. Final tip: HR headaches should also be reduced, as you will be making conscious hiring decisions that hopefully lead you to many successful hires! Use this simple process each time you have a job opening. There are many benefits to having a recruiting strategy as part of your hiring process.

Gables Capital Management is a proud supporter of the

Association of Independent Funeral Directors of Florida Serving as Investment Manager for the

I-Trust for over 25 years

Gables Capital Management, Inc. 801 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2320 Miami, Florida 33131 Tel: 800-313-9427

Eric M. McKenna emckenna@gablescapital.com Judith E. Neiwirth jneiwirth@gablescapital.com

Colette Kemp is an experienced small business owner with 15 years of experience hiring and managing teams. She is the Principal at Kemp Funeral Group. If you would like a copy of an Ideal Candidate Profile worksheet that Colette uses herself, send an email to her at colette@ colettekemp.com, and she’ll be happy to share a copy. www.ifdf.org

|

7


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.